Healthcare Industry

Home health aides care for disabled and/or elderly people in their homes, helping them with feeding, toileting, dressing, bathing and other activities of daily living. Many families hire home...

As the director of nursing in any facility, you will face a very complicated job, and a long-term care facility will add its own layer of complications. As the director of nursing, you will be...

Hospital stays are difficult for the patient and for the loved ones caring for the patient. Unfamiliar procedures, routines and staff add to a sense of bewilderment. Maintaining the bed in the...

Medicare does cover allow for costs of home care with specific stipulations. If a person already has Medicare, you are eligible to use home health care through Medicare by meeting several criteria.

Hospice care, also referred to as "end-of-life" care, may be a difficult subject for many to address. For those who are placing a loved one in hospice care, or are facing their own care options,...

We've all known parents, friends or others who're entered into the realm of senior citizenship gracefully. But as time passes, some of our loved ones may require more attention than others and...

Ironically, the benefits of electronic record keeping in medicine were not highly touted when today's medical finance applications were designed. An EMR offers a host of benefits to the health...

A slide board, also referred to as a transfer board, is an assistive device that creates a bridge between surfaces. The device is made of materials like plastic or wood. The patient is able to...

Hypothermia exists when core body temperature drops below 95 degrees Fahrenheit, and is caused by exposure to wet or cold environments, which rob the body's ability to maintain heat. If left...

Humerus fractures occur in the shoulder joint, or where the upper arm bone and shoulder joint meet. This type of fracture may also include additional injury to the shoulder, such as dislocation or...

Electrocardiography (EKG or ECC) machines are universal in the ability to read cardiac activity and provide a printout demonstrating the electrical activity of the heart. While EKG machines vary...

Diabetic ketoacidosis is a serious complication of diabetes in which blood sugar raises to abnormally high levels, often due to illness or a lapse in insulin therapy. As blood sugar rises, the...

Elbow injuries should be splinted to reduce movement and further injury to the joint during transport to the hospital. Extra care should be taken not to disturb the joint during splinting by...

Adult day-care centers follow very specific intake procedures as outlined by the state agency that licenses the center. The minimum requirements may be specified by the state health department,...

Learn how to gain staff buy-in, improve effectiveness and ultimately impact positive cash flow.

Preparing a care plan for an elderly person should encompass all facets of life. In the past, care plans were written to address only the deficits. For better quality of life results, caregivers...

Huber needles are needles used to administer long-term chemotherapy in cancer patients. They are inserted into a port surgically installed under the skin so that the patient need only be injected...

Rooms used for medical examinations need a specific look to be inviting and comfortable for a patient. The color pattern and hue you select will affect your patients' emotions once they step...

Cardiac leads used during an electrocardiogram (EKG) are essential for transmitting heart signals to the EKG machine. The machine provides a tracing of cardiac activity on graph paper, which a...

The safety issues surrounding hospitals are environmental for both hospital patients and hospital staff.

A gait belt is a device used by a caregiver to decrease the incidence of caregiver back injuries and to provide assistance and stability during walking and transferring a patient. The belt is a...

In 1996, Congress passed into law the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The privacy rule section of HIPAA provides strict protection of the use and disclosure of a...

Some patients' rights in the United States are mandated by state and federal law, and some are part of an individual institution's policies. Also influential on the health care system is the...

Avoiding nerve damage when performing a venipuncture requires using correct procedure during the blood draw. Venipunctures, performed correctly, carry a low risk of any type of injury. An...

A slide board is a medical device that is used to move immobile patients from one place to another. Slide boards are useful in helping a patient move from a bed to a wheelchair or vehicle, or vice...

Orthopedic surgeons are doctors who specialize in the bones, nerves and muscles that help us each move around and function in day-to-day life. Patients are typically referred to an orthopedic...

An comprehensive eye examination is a series of tests administered by an optometrist to assess a patient's level of vision as well as detect any abnormality or diseases such as glaucoma. Patients...

Health care informatics uses technology, such as computers and networking, and multidisciplinary health sciences, such as biomedical and pharmacy, to improve patient care. Informatics organizes...

Electromagnets see a variety of duties in hospitals. The strong magnetic fields from superconducting magnets have given us devices like the MRI scanner. Electromagnets are used in surgery to...

NANDA is an acronym for North American Nursing Diagnosis Association. NANDA was founded in 1982 to develop and standardize nursing language, terminology and nursing diagnoses. NANDA terminology...

Regardless of where or how a person dies, the body must eventually be transported to a hospital for an official death certificate to be issued. Even though an individual has passed away, the...

As the population ages and demands more and better health care, the home health field continues to grow to meet these needs. Home health care is comprised of two distinct categories that can be...

Patients who cannot get out of bed to use the restroom will require a bedpan. Drugs.com states that women can use a bedpan for bowel movements and urination. Men also use bed pans to move their...

Nursing care for end-of-life patients can be difficult. Each patient has different needs, and Ida Jean Orlando's nursing theory can help the nurse to determine those needs.

Many patients will be able to use a slide board to transfer themselves from one surface to another without assistance. However, if the patient needs help using the slide board, you need to know...

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that certain information be provided with prescription medications intended for human use. This information is typically made available through a...

Knowing the proper guidelines for writing patient information sheets is extremely important. Patients deciding whether to participate in a research study or clinical drug trials need pertinent...

Caring for a bedridden patient can be a challenge in itself; however, adding a feeding tube to the scenario makes proper care just that much more delicate. Bedridden patients with feeding tubes...

Hospitals are not the most cheerful places. For those that are stuck in hospital beds, it can be a miserable experience. Decorating the hospital bed can bring some bright colors and pleasant decor...

Pediatric nurses use a wide range of technology, from common electronic devices like wireless phones to scientific instruments that measure how much oxygen a patient's brain is receiving.

Phlebotomists should follow two practices to prevent pain in their patients: using correct procedures when drawing blood the first time and open, clear communication with the patient. However,...

The primary objective of medical record keeping has always been to maintain accurate records of a patient's condition and treatment in order to better care for that patient. However, certain...

There are times when a medical team may need to transfer a patient to another medical facility. The transfer destinations may be hospital to hospital, clinic to hospital, hospital to...

Nursing care plans are part of the nursing process and assist the nurse in developing measurable goals and outcomes for patient care. The nursing care plan includes the nurse's assessment of the...

Hildegard Peplau's theories of nursing practice were revolutionary. Her major work, "Interpersonal Relationships in Nursing," was published in 1952. The main theory of her work is that nurses...

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) led to the establishment of strong safeguards to protect the privacy of patient health information. The privacy rule only...

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) contains strict standards regarding the release of an individual's health information without authorization. This act was...

As health care systems become increasingly complicated, it can be difficult for patients and their families to ensure that the best possible care is being provided. A patient advocate may be the...

Collecting blood from the femoral artery in the groin area is less common than collecting blood from other arterial sites, such as the radial artery at the wrist or the brachial artery in the...

A Hoyer lift is a useful medical and home health device for lifting elderly and incapacitated patients who are too heavy to lift without mechanical help. Patients are easily and comfortably moved...